Articles

Oliver McCall Training Eric Molina

Published

12 years ago

February 17, 2012

TSS LOGO! CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Feb. 17, 2012) – World Boxing Council No. 10-ranked heavyweight Eric “Drummer Boy” Molina (18-1, 14 KOs), from Lyford, Texas, will face the toughest challenge of his young career on Saturday when he tangles with WBC No. 1- ranked heavyweight Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (33-2, 29 KOs), from Riverside, Calif., at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. (SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.)

Molina grew up just a few hours south of the site of Saturday night’s fight, and he would like nothing more than to score an upset in the this all-Mexican-American heavyweight showdown taking place in his home state. Molina has chosen a surprising name to take over the reins as his head trainer for the biggest match of his life: former WBC heavyweight champion Oliver “The Atomic Bull” McCall.

“Oliver and I sparred last year in Miami, and he was quick to share his knowledge with me,” Molina said. “Anyone who has met Oliver knows how outgoing he is. He noted what he thought was working for me and what wasn’t as effective.”

McCall said it took him by surprise when Molina asked him to take over as head trainer.

“I happened to be in South Florida last year and both Eric and I had upcoming fights so we sparred,” McCall said of the beginning of their relationship. “I was impressed with his height, size and heart. I sensed he was athletic and had skills. He also had a good right hand.

“Then Eric asked me to come to Texas to spar with him for this fight he has with Arreola. I wasn’t expecting to be asked to train Eric. Once we started talking it just clicked. They saw what I had to teach and they wanted more.

“Out of the blue, they asked me to take over as trainer. Turned out it was his trainer’s idea, too. I was flattered.”

McCall went to work preparing his young charge for the biggest fight of his life.

“I saw some things he needed to hone to become a top contender. It’s one thing to be fighting anyone on an undercard. It’s a whole other deal when you’re fighting the top guys, champions and such. You have to be ready.

“Eric has to jab, move in the early rounds and can’t hesitate to land the right hand, just let it go. If he lands a few good right hands the fight will change. Arreola will become more cautious and that’s where Eric’s opportunity lies.”

Molina sees McCall providing him with continuing education.

“I recently graduated from college and I felt like Oliver was giving me the equivalent of a master’s degree in heavyweight boxing. He was trained by some greats. He’s educating my jab, sharpening my strengths, eliminating bad habits and providing me with the proper strategy.

“His foundation of how to beat Chris Arreola was similar to what I and my team had been thinking, but his insight was much more detailed. He immediately honed in on my athletic ability and broke it down for me like a puzzle. He’s providing me with the tools and knowledge that will give me the best chance of winning on Saturday.”

McCall says he’s reaching back in his life to summon the knowledge of his past trainers.

“I have so much knowledge,” McCall stated emphatically. “I’m happy to share what I’ve learned. I want to be an asset to American heavyweights by sharing what I gained from greats like Richie Giachetti, Georgie Benton, Emanuel Steward and Willie Rush. These are great trainers that shared their wisdom with me. Now I’d like to pass that down. American boxing needs it, especially the heavyweights.”

Molina sees an upset in the making.

“You saw what happened in the past to fighters who underestimated Oliver McCall,” Molina said. “A lot of them ended up on their backs.

“I remind people of that when they say he’s unproven as a trainer. Just watch me on Saturday night. I plan on scoring an Oliver McCall-style upset over Chris Arreola.”

Tickets to see the event live and in person are priced at $25, $35, $50, $75, $100 and are available at the American Bank Center box office and on Ticketmaster.com. VIP packages are also available by calling (817) 296-4546.

Comment on this article

Post Views: 456

The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

Post Views: 4,495

Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

Post Views: 3,113

Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

Post Views: 5,758